AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. NADLER
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Nadler:
Page 76, line 24, after the dollar amount, insert the following: ``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 95, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert the following: ``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I just want to make sure before I start that we have the amended amendment that says $5 million, not $10 million.
The ACTING Chairman. Without objection, the Clerk will report the amendment.
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the amendment.
The ACTING Chairman. Pursuant to the order of the House today, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, although I am not going to take 5 minutes.
This amendment would increase the appropriation for the Housing Opportunity For Persons with AIDS program.
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Mr. Chairman, this amendment would increase the appropriation for the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS program, or HOPWA, by $5 million.
I thank Chairman KNOLLENBERG and Ranking Member OLVER for recommending a $3 million increase from last year's appropriation, significantly more than the administration request. But this follows a $13 million cut last year.
Adequately meeting the housing needs of all those living with HIV/AIDS would take over $2 billion. More than 100 Members, from both sides of the aisle, joined me in asking the Appropriations committee for $385 million in HOPWA funding in FY06. This amendment, however, seeks only to restore the cuts from last year and return HOPWA to the FY04 level of $295 million.
The costs associated with the new AIDS treatments often force people to choose between essential medications and other necessities, such as housing. HOPWA answers this need. With 91 percent of HOPWA recipients having family incomes less than $1,000 per month, program recipients simply cannot afford the cuts HOPWA has taken.
HOPWA is an extremely fiscally sound program. It supplies a low-cost alternative to acute-care hospital beds, typically paid for by Medicaid. Acute-care facilities cost Medicaid, on average, more than $1,000 a day, while assistance under HOPWA costs as little as $55 to $110 a day.
Nationwide, thousands of people are now on waiting lists for HOPWA-funded housing. The housing crisis facing people living with HIV/AIDS imposes enormous costs on individuals with the disease and on their families and communities. Without adequate HOPWA funding, AIDS patients will continue to flood our emergency rooms and shelters, and our Medicaid rolls. Let's get back at least to the FY04 funding level.
I thank Messrs. SHAYS and CROWLEY for co-sponsoring this amendment, and demonstrating the bipartisan support HOPWA enjoys. I strongly urge the adoption of this amendment.
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Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. NADLER. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Chairman, I accept the amendment.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I was going to add that I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver) for their cooperation, and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) for cosponsoring the amendment. I appreciate the gentleman's acceptance, and I will take ``yes'' for an answer, happily.
Mr. Chairman, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).
(Mr. SHAYS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in favor of the amendment
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to increase HOPWA funding to its Fiscal Year 2004 level of $293 million.
This amendment is tremendously important for thousands of people afflicted with AIDS. I appreciate the good work the Chairman has done on this bill, as well as the fiscal constraints of this budget cycle. The bottom line, Mr. Chairman, is when it comes to the HOPWA program I think we should provide more.
The Centers for Disease Control, CDC, estimates there are between 1 and 1.2 million Americans living with HIV and AIDS. A majority of these individuals will face a housing crisis at some point during their illness as a result of increased medical expenses and lost wages. HOPWA is the only federal program specifically designed to meet their needs.
The HOPWA program is one of the most cost-effective ways to provide people living with HIV/AIDS with adequate and affordable housing. Acute care facilities, under Medicaid cost more than $1,000 a day as compared to HOPWA community housing, which averages $55 to $110 per day.
The program keeps those living with HIV/AIDS off the streets and out of expensive acute care facilities.
My predecessor, Stewart B. McKinney, died of AIDS-related pneumonia. His wife, Lucie, carries on his work as chairman of the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to providing housing to persons and families living with HIV/AIDS. The McKinney House and other HOPWA programs approach the HIV crisis in a truly caring, community-based and cost-effective manner.
Because 90 percent of HOPWA funds are distributed to States by formula, States and localities control how money is spent--not the Federal Government. Communities, are empowered to use HOPWA funds to meet their unique housing needs--from providing short-term supportive housing for low-income persons with HIV/AIDS, to building new community residences.
The flexibility has, in large measure, contributed to the widespread success of the HOPWA program. The bottom line is that money for HOPWA is money well spent. I urge support for this amendment.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIRMAN (Mr. Bass). The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).
The amendment was agreed to.